Out of Sight, Out of Time GG5
by GallagherGirl11
Summary: This is my take on what happens when Cammie returns to the Gallagher Academy after her summer hunting the Circle. Spoilers to those who haven't read the first 4 Gallagher Girl books, obviously. Lots of Zach/Cammie!
1. Chapter 1

I came back to the Gallagher Academy a few weeks after I woke up in the Alps. Coming back this year was different. First of all, it was the end of October, and second of all, I didn't want to be seen. I crept in through the few secret passageways that I was absolutely sure no one knew about. It took me longer than I would have liked because my body still wasn't back to its full capacity yet: I was still much thinner and weaker than usual. It was around 2AM when I finally got into the school, through a dark and remote passageway that had me climbing up walls half the time. I came to a little corner going out of the passageway and decided to set my stuff down there and spend the night. It was secluded, which was good, because I didn't feel ready to just jump back into my Gallagher life just yet. I missed my friends, but I knew that going back wouldn't be easy. Besides, it was too early to do that now. So I sat down, ate some of the food I had brought with me and started to re-tape my ankle. I hadn't had the time or opportunity to see a doctor since the Alps, so I had to make do with what I had. Luckily, my only lasting injuries were my ankle and that bump on my head.

I was just finishing wrapping up my ankle when I heard someone. They were about 200 meters away, I guessed. Panicking, I tried to look for a way out. There wasn't one. I hadn't expected anyone to know about this passageway or to come here so late at night, so I hadn't planned out what I would do if someone came. Grabbing the nearest potential weapon I could find (my stainless steel water bottle) I stood at the corner of the entrance to my hiding place, remaining out of sight of the incoming person but close enough that I could see them first. They were getting closer by the second. Exactly 2.7 seconds later, I dropped by water bottle on the stone floor, making a loud noise, because I recognized who was coming. It was Zach.

I hadn't seen him since June, when I decided to run away without him. I didn't know if he would be happy to see me, or angry that I put myself in danger. I was betting he would be pretty angry with me. Unfortunately, my cover was blown. He turned towards me, eyes wide, and whispered: "Gallagher Girl?"

I backed away, looking at the floor, afraid of what I would see if I looked into his eyes. He didn't let me get away though. He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. I tried not to wince when he did that, because I was still pretty sore from, well, whatever I did during the summer. (I still couldn't remember the details.)

Slowly, I brought myself to look at him. His face was almost expressionless. He was staring at me, just like I was staring at him. We were looking at each other, standing only an arm's length apart, trying to piece together what we wanted to say without talking. Seeing him after so long was hard. I loved him, and I thought of him almost the whole time I was making my way back to the Gallagher Academy, wondering what I would say to him when I saw him, and what he would say to me. Out of all the people I had left, he was the only one whose reaction I couldn't predict. We stared at each other, just standing there, for what seemed like forever (but was really only four minutes and thirty-seven seconds) until I suddenly found myself in his arms. I wasn't sure if I had moved or if he had, but it felt so good to be there that I didn't really care how it happened. Neither of us said anything, we just stood there, hugging. Being in his arms again made me think about how it was before I left, and how much easier it seemed back then. Tears started rolling down my face and I hoped he wouldn't notice my shoulders shaking slightly with silent sobs. Unfortunately, he did notice, and he pulled away from me, still keeping his arms around my waist.

He was looking at me so weirdly it was almost funny. I couldn't understand why he was so confused until he asked: "Are you crying?" And I realized he had never seen me cry before. I laughed and wiped my eyes. "I'm fine. I just-"I said, before he interrupted me.

"No, you aren't fine. Look at you. You're so thin, you're covered in bruises-that's why you winced when I grabbed you, isn't it? Plus, it looks like your ankle is broken. What happened to you, Cam?"

My eyes were wide and scared when I whispered "I don't know."

He looked alarmed, and he started running his fingers through my hair, almost as though he was looking for something. I yelped with pain when his fingers came across the bump on my head. He looked sorry, but that didn't stop him from scanning my body for any other potential injuries that I might have failed to mention.

"What are you doing, Zach?"

"They caught you, didn't they?" he murmured, running his hands down my arms and waist, checking for injuries.

"I told you Zach, I'm fine. You can stop acting like a doctor. And what do you mean, they caught me?"

He stopped suddenly and looked at me with such intensity that I pulled back a little. "You know what I mean, Cam. Be serious, please. What happened to you this summer?"

"Zach, I am serious. I don't know. I've been trying to remember, but all I know is that I woke up a couple of weeks ago with a broken ankle and this bump on my head, and I couldn't remember anything else. I honestly…don't know." I winced slightly because my ankle was starting to hurt again, so I slide down the wall until I was sitting down. Zach, probably noticing my wince, was quick to do the same, and he sat down next to me, taking my foot in his lap. He checked the bone to see if it was set properly, and then he started to undo the tape I had put on it.

"What are you doing?"

"You did this wrong, Gallagher Girl. That's why it hurts when you stand for too long."

"It doesn't hurt!" I protested, but he silenced me with a knowing look. I sighed and put my head on his shoulder while he fixed my ankle. It felt nice to rest and be taken care after so many weeks of fending for myself. We were both quite for a while until he touched my ankle in the wrong place and I flinched in pain, taking my head off his shoulder.

"Sorry Gallagher Girl." He murmured, quickly setting my ankle back into place and putting the tape around it again.

"It's okay." I grunted through clenched teeth- what he did had really hurt, but I was trying not to show him.

He looked at me worriedly, studying my face, trying to see through my façade and detect how much pain I was in. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding with a gasp and his eyebrows furrowed. He turned his attention back to my ankle, rubbing his hands around it, trying to make my pain go away.

"Better?" He asked hopefully, still applying pressure to my ankle.

"Much." I sighed, relaxing and leaning against the wall again. I reached down and gripped his hand, squeezing it tightly. He squeezed back, and gave me a weak smile. He finished with my foot and looked at me. "Everyone was upset when you left, Gallagher Girl."

"I know. I'm sorry." I whispered. I didn't like thinking about how much pain I had caused. I looked away from Zach and choked back the tears that threatened to come back. I knew this was the part where he would yell at me for how stupid I had been. But I was wrong. He only sighed and said: "Why would you do this me? And not only me, but your friends, your mom…"

I wasn't really successful in holding back the tears. They ran down my face slowly, the only things that showed how I was really feeling. Zach met my eyes and I saw that he was apologetic. "I know why you left, Gallagher Girl. But realizing you were gone, that was the hardest part. And knowing that you might not come back… It killed me. Please don't cry. Please." He stroked my face, calming me.

"Zach, why can't I remember anything? What's wrong with me?" I asked, even though I knew he couldn't answer me.

"I don't know Gallagher Girl. I don't know." He reached towards the bump on my head. "But I think that this is the reason you can't remember anything."

He looked so sad, sitting there with me in the passage, trying to help me uncover the mysteries of my summer. I realized how hard it must have been for him during the whole time I was gone, and how thankful I was that he was here, and that he wasn't angry with me. I leaned towards him, separating the space between us, looked right into his eyes and said: "I'm so, so, sorry I left you Zach. I'm sorry."

He put his hands around my face and kissed me. It felt different than any of our other kisses. This time, it was full of different emotions. It was happy, because we were finally reunited after so many months, but also sad, because of the situation. When it was over he looked at me, at the tears still running down my face, and said "I know, Cam. I know."

I leaned into him again, my head on his shoulder, his hand stroking my hair. We sat in silence comfortably for a while, until I surprised both of us by letting out a yawn.

"Sorry." I muttered, embarrassed. He smirked at me, the first smirk of his I had seen in a while, and leaned down to kiss me. I came up onto my knees so I could reach him better and he did the same. His arms were around my waist and my hands were gripping his hair, tangling it with my fingers. He broke away, giving both of us a chance to catch our breath. He started to pull away, but I pulled him closer, kissing him again with a passion that surprised even me. His hands started running around my body, moving up around my shoulders into my hair, wrapping his fingers around it, all the while being careful not to touch the bump on my head. I pushed myself even closer to him, gripping his neck with my arms. Suddenly, he stood up, picking me up with him, never breaking his lips from mine. I wrapped my legs around him and he turned me so I was pressed against the wall. This time I broke away for air, but he kept kissing my neck and pulling me closer to him. Impatiently, I pressed my lips back to his with a moan. I felt his lips turn up into a smirk as he kissed me, changing the kiss to a gentler one. I unwrapped my legs from him, instead letting him hold me in the air, a couple of inches above the ground so I wouldn't have to stand on my sore ankle. I placed my hands around his neck and he slowly broke away from me, still smiling. I was panting, and he smirked at me. He was out of breath too, but I don't think he was as dazed as I was.

"Well, well, Gallagher Girl. I didn't know you had it in you." Zach teased me. I rolled my eyes at him, but nevertheless rested my head against his chest, sighing with happiness. He lowered me to the ground slowly, and I tried not the put too much weight on my ankle. We stood together for a few minutes, until I decided to sit down again, because standing on one foot wasn't really the most comfortable thing in the world. Zach sat down next to me, immediately looking at me with concern, wondering if I was in pain. I shook my head at him.

"I'm just tired." I told him. I was starting to get cold, so I grabbed my jacket from my bag and put it on. Zach started rubbing my arms, noticing I was cold, to warm me up. I grabbed his hands to make him stop, to let him know I was fine, and rested my head against his shoulder. He put his arms around me and brought me closer to him. I sighed with content and felt my eyes start to close.

"Goodnight Gallagher Girl." Zach whispered in my ear.

"Goodnight." I sighed, before falling asleep in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up with my head on Zach's shoulder, his head on top of mine, and his arm around me. My internal clock told me it was about 7AM. Suddenly remembering where I was, I snapped my head away from Zach and sat up abruptly. His head snapped down, jerking him awake.

"Geez Gallagher Girl, calm down." He muttered, rubbing his head with his hand.

"Sorry." I answered distractedly. I was going through my things, looking for a schedule I had snatched on my way in. Found it! It was a copy of Bex's schedule, and I saw that she had Cove-Ops first. Cove-Ops….It had been so long since I had been in a proper Cove-Ops class, with an actual teacher. I sighed, and sat back down. Zach glanced at the schedule, raised his eyebrows and asked: "How did you get that?"

I rolled my eyes at him, not answering his question. I looked back down at the schedule. "Is Mr. Solomon…?" I asked, not daring to finish my question.

"He's awake," Zach answered, "And he's teaching Cove-Ops again. When he found out you were gone, he calmed everyone down, saying you'd come back when you were ready. I guess he was right."

"How am I going to do this…Where should I go…?" I mumbled to myself, trying to plan how I would rejoin my sisterhood.

Zach answered me, even though I wasn't talking to him. "You should go see your mother first. She is headmistress after all."

"I guess…but what if…?" I stopped talking, thinking about a different possibility.

Zach read my mind. "Gallagher Girl, it's too late now. You can't just go back to class with Bex, Liz and Macey. It doesn't work like that. How are you even going to keep up with them? You can barely stand, let alone fight like you used to."

"I told you Zach, I'm fine! And if I can't stand, then how do think I made it here, hmm? I'm not that weak, you know. I can take care of myself." I yelled at him, my voice rising to a shriller tone than usual.

"There's a difference between being healthy and fighting through your pain, pretending it doesn't exist, Gallagher Girl. I can see your face when you stand for too long, or if I touch your arm in the wrong spot. You're not fine, Gallagher Girl." Zach's eyebrows were furrowing, his mouth pulling down into a frown.

I stood up, trying to prove my point and show him I actually was fine, but I did it too quickly and put too much weight on the wrong side of my ankle, so I ended up falling forward into Zach's outstretched arms. Zach smirked at me, everything in his expression screaming 'I told you so'.

"Oh, shut up." I muttered, pulling away from him. This time, I put less weight on my ankle, did it slowly, and managed to stand up on my own. My ankle still hurt even more than it had last night, the reason for which I could only assume was Zach's insistence on resetting it to the right spot. I knew that I was being stupid, and that if he hadn't I would have a crooked ankle for the rest of my life, but I was still mad at him.

I walked over to my stuff and gathered it all together in my bag, but then I came to a stop. How was I going to do this? I couldn't simply march back into my normal Gallagher routine, expecting everyone to be happy to see me. And Zach…he would have to go to his classes, or else there would be suspicion. I was on my own for this. I was used to being on my own, but I wasn't looking forward to facing the wrath of Bex, Liz, Macey, or my mom.

Zach came up behind me, putting his arms around my waist, comforting me. I sighed, enjoying it for a few seconds, but then I had to pull away.

"You have to go, Zach. You have classes to go to."

He sighed, turned me around so I was looking at him, and simply nodded. "You're right, Gallagher Girl. And I think you'll be okay on your own. Good luck."

He quickly kissed my forehead, and, just like that, he was gone.

I decided that I would observe my friends' day before going in, because I wanted to see their routines and find the best opening to jump back into their lives. I had to continue through passageways I was unfamiliar with, some that probably hadn't even been used since Gilly herself, because a lot of the others had been closed off. First I went to the one that looked over my mother's office, but she wasn't in it. I assumed that everyone had gone to breakfast already.

I waited until I knew that everyone would be in class, and then I took a passageway that lead to my old room. Stepping into it was strange, because everything was the same as it always had been. Well, almost everything. My things weren't in the usual mess, and my bed was actually made. I went to my closet and quickly changed into some clean clothes (but not my uniform) and sat on my bed, deciding what to do.

I decided that I would go see Mr. Solomon first, since he would probably be the calmest of everyone. So I waited in the passageway until I knew the teaching day was over, and then I starting creeping down into the Sublevels, where I knew he would be before dinner. Conveniently, he was in sublevel two, the first place I tried. I was hiding in a passageway that went behind the wall that his desk was in front of. I waited for him to realize I was there, watching him. Joe Solomon is the best spy I've ever known, so I didn't have to wait long for him to say, calmly, without turning around: "Miss Morgan."

I came out of the passageway, standing right in front of him. I honestly had no idea what to say. He raised his head slowly, to get a good look at me, and, for a second, I thought I saw a flash of relief in his eyes, but then it was gone, replaced by his usual calculating expression.

"Sit, Miss Morgan. You won't be able to stand on that ankle much longer." He instructed me.

Unlike with Zach, I listened to him, and obeyed without protest, because my ankle did actually hurt a lot. I noticed he was going through some papers on his desk. Looking closer, I realized that those papers were my Cove-Ops report from last summer. He caught me looking.

"Yes, quite an interesting report, Miss Morgan. I wonder if you have anything to add to it."

I looked at him, trying to keep the terror from seeping into my eyes, and shook my head. He noticed my fear, because his eyes softened and he came over to where I was sitting, and stood right behind me.

Just as Zach had done, he ran his fingers through my hair, looking for the bump, as if he knew it was there before I told him. His fingers brushed against it, and my whole body stiffened, but I refused to show any other weakness in front of him. He took his hands away from me and came around so he was facing me. His face was so shocked that I had to blink to make sure I wasn't imagining it.

"You found them." He stated simply, not trying to hide his shocked expression from me.

I looked at him, this time not masking my terror, and whispered three words that seemed more deadly than any weapon. "I don't know."

"Cammie, you did find them. And they made sure you wouldn't remember anything about it. You escaped."

"Mr. Solomon…" I began, but he cut me off.

"Mr. S." He corrected.

"Joe," I answered, refusing to admit that, technically, Joe Solomon didn't exist anymore, "I don't…I can't…I just…" I wasn't able to finish, because I had to bite my lip to stop myself from crying.

"Cammie, you are one of the best pavement artists I had ever seen, for your age. I don't doubt that you found the Circle. But, I also don't doubt that they would let you go without making sure you remembered none of their important secret information." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Together we'll figure this out. But now, I'm afraid, it's time for you to get the punishment you deserve for running away."

"Are you taking me to my mother?" I asked.

"Yes, but that's not what I meant about punishment. It's your roommates you should be more afraid of."

I stood, careful about my ankle, but Mr. Solomon noticed, and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Miss Morgan?" He asked inquisitively, noticing I still had one hand on my chair and wasn't walking with him.

"I'm fine." I answered, holding my breath while I walked over to him. It was fine, I convinced myself. I could do this.

Mr. Solomon looked incredulous, staring at my face, as if he was expecting me to scream in pain, but I was strong, and I was a spy who was trained not to show weakness.

It was dinnertime, and everyone else was eating in the hall, so we got our peace walking to my mother's office. She was at dinner too, but Mr. Solomon assured me she was on her way.

I released the breath I was holding and sank into one of my mother's chairs, ignoring Mr. Solomon's stare at my ankle. Being back in my mom's office was a little scary, because I didn't know how she would react to finding me back. I walked over to her desk, looking under the drawers to see if she had hidden anything else there. Mr. Solomon raised his eyebrows at me, but I ignored him. Because under the second drawer to the right, I found the old picture of my dad and Mr. Solomon, but I also found one of me. I pulled them both out, and I noticed how wrinkled mine was. It looked like it had been stained with what I could only assume were my mother's tears. I sat on the floor, staring at the two pictures, imagining my mother's pain. My face was as expressionless as stone, I made sure of that, but inside my feelings were all over the place. I sat like that for a few minutes, lost in thought, when I was startled by Mr. Solomon's voice.

"Miss Morgan." He said sympathetically, but loudly enough to startle me out of my trance. I put the pictures back where I found them and went back to my chair. Five seconds later, I heard my mother's footsteps outside the door. Holding my breath, bracing myself, I watched as the doorknob turned slowly. The door opened, and I saw my mother standing there. Her face didn't show any sign of emotion or surprise towards me being there. She just looked at me.

"Cameron." She barely glanced in my direction, instead chose to talk to Mr. Solomon.

"Joe, did you get those papers I asked for?"

"Yes, Rachel. Here they are. Would you like me to leave?" He handed her some papers and then looked at her nervously.

"No, thank you." My mother replied her voice as cold as stone. She turned toward me slowly, her terrifying gaze now focused on me.

"Cameron. Anne. Morgan. Do you have any idea, any idea, what you did?" She didn't yell, she just whispered, a whisper so soft and deadly that if I hadn't been a spy I wouldn't have heard it.

I just stared at her deftly, not saying a word, because I didn't want to make it worse.

She let out a breath and her muscles visibly relaxed. "Come here." She ordered.

I got up and walked towards her, and if she noticed my ankle, she didn't say anything. We stood facing each other, and I realized that I was closer to her height now, so that I was looking at her chin instead of her neck. My mother looked me up and down, her eyes softening when she saw my bruised arms, my broken ankle, and my weak figure. Suddenly, she pulled me into a bone crushing hug. I gasped with surprise, but hugged her back, feeling relieved to be with her again. She let go of me, and whispered into my hair: "Don't you ever do that again."

I nodded, wiping my eyes and stepping back. My mother turned to Mr. Solomon and said: "Joe, call the girls, oh, and Zach, I guess."

He nodded, and 2 minutes and 24 seconds later, Bex came into the room, followed closely by Macey, Liz and Zach. Bex stopped dead when she saw me, and I saw her face contort into an image of absolute furry. She rushed towards me, about to smash some sense into me no doubt, when Zach yelled: "Bex, stop. Look at her."

Bex did stop, thankfully. She looked me up and down, noticing how pathetic I looked, her face giving in slightly, and pulled me into a hug. She surprised me by sobbing her heart out onto my shoulder. I was taken aback.

"Bex, I'm sorry. Bex, please, stop, please."

Mr. Solomon glanced at my mom and said: "We'll just step out for a second." So he and my mom left the office.

"Cam, you are so much trouble." Bex laughed and stopped crying, stepping away so the others could hug me too.

Macey came up, smiling, and hugged me. "I'm so glad you're back, Cam. We missed you." She let a single tear escape from her eye, but other than that she seemed a lot more composed than Bex. Liz came up last, and when she hugged me, she pulled back in surprise.

"Cam, what happened to you? Did you eat anything while you were gone? You're tinier than I am!"

The girls fluttered around again, worrying about me, examining my injuries for a while. We all calmed down, until Macey said: "We'll go up to the room now, so that you and Zach can get some….privacy." She winked at me, shoving Liz and Bex out. I rolled my eyes at her. Zach pulled me into his arms and whispered, "Nice report, by the way. I just loved the ending. 'Zach was right. Zach was right. Zach was right.' Although," he frowned, "It did give them a bigger reason to blame everything on me."

"I'm sorry." I whispered, but I was giggling. We pulled apart and I told him that I needed to talk to my mother a bit more. He nodded, understanding, and left. My mother and Mr. Solomon came back into the office.

"Cam, you really should get those injuries checked out. The infirmary's closed though…" My mother fretted.

"Don't worry mom, my ankle's taped up anyways. And I'm healing. They were worse a couple of weeks ago-" I stopped, fearing I had said too much.

"You've been like this for a couple of weeks? Cam…" My mother scolded me, worrying about what else happened to me.

"Actually, Miss Morgan," Mr. Solomon said to me, "You're injuries don't look too bad. You're ankle is taped up nicely, I'm assuming Mr. Goode did that for you?"

I nodded; embarrassed at how easily Mr. Solomon had guessed I was with Zach.

My mother raised her eyebrows at me, but I just shrugged. I wasn't really keen on explaining my night with Zach to my mother.

Mr. Solomon continued: "I'd like to look at that bump on your head tomorrow with an X-ray, but other than that, I think you should be fine for now."

"We'll discuss this more tomorrow, Cam. Go get some sleep, you look exhausted." My mother beckoned me out the door, wishing me a goodnight.

I walked to my room using only passageways; I didn't want the rest of my sisters to know I was back just yet, although I was sure they would all know by morning. I was almost at my room when I stumbled over a loose stone in the passageway floor and fell. I swore through gritted teeth, trying to figure out how I was going to get up without messing up my ankle too badly. I turned my legs around slowly so they were behind me, and pressed my back against the wall, using it for support. Unfortunately, I hit my head on the wall in the process. I was up on my knees, cursing through the pain of the already sensitive bump on my head, when someone swooped by and picked up off my knees, pulling me to my feet. I gasped in fear, but it turned out to be Zach, again.

He was laughing at me. "Oh Gallagher Girl, what would you do without me?"

My head was killing me; I didn't have the energy to answer him. I had hit it in the same place where the bump was, and now I was extremely dizzy. I sunk out of his arms, sliding down the wall until I was sitting again.

Zach was still chuckling. "Why would sit down again when I just helped you up, Gallagher girl?"

I didn't answer; I just put my head against my knees, closed my eyes and willed the pain to stop. My teeth were gritted and my breathing was shallow. Zach stopped laughing immediately, and sunk down across from me. His hands ran around my body, trying to find where the pain was. They stopped on my head, on top my hands that were clutching my head. He pulled my hands free and gripped them tightly, whispering to me that the pain would go away. There wasn't anything he could do. If he touched my head, it would hurt more. So he sat with me for the few minutes it took for me to be able to lift my head again. I opened my eyes, and was surprised to find them dry. Zach's face was covered with worry, and he was staring at me intently. I let out a breath, which sounded more like a moan, and let go of his hands. His hands went to my head, looking for the bump. I recoiled, not wanting to experience the pain again. He stopped, and told me not to worry. He just wanted to look at it. He parted my hair over the bump and saw that it looked just the same as before. Zach was no doctor, so it wasn't like he knew what that meant.

I tried to stand up, feeling slightly better, but I wavered a little, and I had to lean heavily on Zach. He pulled me into a tight hug, and this time he wasn't careful about my injuries. He was stronger than me, and when he pulled me to him, it was with such strength that I barely had room to draw a breath. He noticed, and loosened his hold on me, his eyes apologetic. I rested my head on his shoulder, glad that he was there for me. When we broke apart, he said: "Gallagher Girl, you have no idea how much you scare me sometimes."

I smiled, pulling away from him. "I have to go now, Zach." He nodded, letting me pass by and go back to my room. As I was walking, I thought about how easy he was being with me, and the side of himself he was showing. I was sure it wouldn't last; the smirk would be back by tomorrow.


	3. Author's Note

Author's Note

Hi guys! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing both my stories! I'm working on both of them right now, so they should be up in about an hour or so!

I know some of you noticed that I broke my stories up into chapters even though they were originally all one page; I just thought the chapters would be easier to read. Personally, as a reader, it annoys me when I have to scroll down for a long time, and I tend to lose my place. I had originally intended for both my stories to be uploaded in chapters, but I messed it up, so I had to change it after a bunch of you had read them. Sorry about the confusion! From now on, they will be updated in chapters.

That brings me to a question I have for you guys. The way I write is kind of like bursts; I'll write 10 pages at once, then come to a lull in the story, leave it, and come back later and write 10 more pages. That's how I've been uploading so far. What you've read so far has all been written in one sitting. So, my question is: would you rather I upload less regularly (about once a week) but upload a lot of writing, or would you prefer if I uploaded more regularly (every two days or so) but uploaded small bits? I'll still write the same way, but if you want to me to upload more often, then I won't be uploading everything as soon as I write it; I'll be splitting it off in sections. Which do you prefer? Let me know! If you don't care, that's fine. I'll still be uploading anyway.

Okay, well, that's all for now! I have to get back to work so you guys can keep reading the stories!

GallagherGirl11


	4. Chapter 3

I made my way to my room, not at all surprise to find Bex, Liz and Macey staring at the door, anxiously waiting for me to walk through it. When I did, they bombarded me with questions. At least they weren't still angry with me, I thought, but the questions were worse.

"Guys, be quiet for a second," I interrupted them, "And just listen to me."

"Three weeks ago, I woke up in a nunnery in the Alps, weak and bruised, with a broken ankle, a bump on my head and black hair. I didn't know how I got there, and I couldn't remember anything from June to October. I don't know if I found the Circle, or if they caught me, or even where I went that whole time. When I woke up, I was barely able to walk on my own, but, as soon as I got better, I made my way back here to you. I don't remember anything, I just…can't remember." I explained, leaving them in a stunned silence.

"Cam…I'm so sorry." Bex whispered, sniffing back what I was surprised to see were tears.

Liz, Macey and Bex all crowded around me, fluttering with worry and speaking at once. I pulled them into a hug, and, just as I had said five months ago, whispered: "I love you guys."

"I love you too, Cammie." They all whispered back. Eventually, they let go of me and let me go to bed. After so many months of sleeping in the nearest place I could find, being back in my own bed felt amazing. I drifted off to sleep almost immediately, feeling the exhaustion that the day had brought on.

Several hours later, I was tossing in bed, living in a terrible nightmare. There was a man in my dream, and he was just out of my line of vision, but somehow I knew he was there. I was following him, trying to get a glimpse of his face, but every time I got closer, he disappeared again. I was just about to reach him when, in the dream, I felt a sharp pain in my head and fell to the ground.

I woke up suddenly, sitting straight up in bed, breathing heavily. I tried to shake my dream out of my mind, but something about it kept nagging me. Then it hit me. It wasn't just a dream I had experienced. It was a memory. Something from my summer that must have been important enough for my amnesia-plagued brain to pull out. I couldn't remember where it happened, or why I was there, or even who the man I was following was. But the important thing was that my memories were starting to come back. Well, possibly. I didn't know for sure.

I got out of bed to go to the washroom and clear my head, but as soon as my foot touched the carpet, three pairs of eyes opened and stared at me.

"Bex, get her!" Macey whispered.

"You aren't going anywhere, Cammie." Liz announced, furiously.

Bex was holding me in a headlock, not taking care to mind my injuries.

"Ouch, Bex, what are you doing?" I snapped, angry at the sudden ambush.

"The more important question to ask here, Cam, is what are you doing? Think you could escape again, hmm?" Bex hissed in my ear.

"What? No! I was just going to the bathroom!" I protested.

Liz and Macey raised their eyebrows at each other, clearly not believing me.

"Bex, just stand outside the door," Liz instructed.

"Yeah," Macey agreed, "There isn't any way out of the bathroom anyway."

Bex nodded, pulling me to the bathroom, shoving me inside and slamming the door. I was shocked at their behaviour, but, in hindsight, it made sense. They wouldn't let me go off on my own after the Blackthorne incident; no way would they leave me alone after this.

What shocked me most wasn't the security detail. It was the fact that they had chosen Bex to do it. Sure, she was strong and an amazing spy, but out of all Rebecca Baxter's qualities, her behaviour when she was forced to wake up in the middle of the night wasn't one of her good ones.

I sighed, and filled up a glass of water and drank it, trying to calm myself. Despite all the drama with the girls, I could still remember my dream vividly. Who was the man I was following? What did it mean? I decided I couldn't talk to anyone about it. Maybe, just maybe, my memories would slowly start to come back. At least, I hoped so.

I emerged from the bathroom, pushed past Bex and went to back to bed. My friends were too tired to question me, so they all went to sleep. Despite the fact that the next day was a school day, I couldn't get to sleep. I was too afraid of what I might remember through my dreams. I lay awake for the rest of the night, waiting for everyone to wake up.

An alarm went off at 6:30 the next morning, and Bex, Liz and Macey sprang out of bed all at once. They looked around the room, checking if I was still there, and, when they saw me lying on my bed, breathed out sighs of relief. I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom to get ready. I took a shower, fixed my hair in a way that didn't hurt the bump on my head, and put on some eye make-up. I tried to look as much like my old self as possible. I put on my uniform for the first time in months, and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Guys, I have to go to the infirmary now. You don't have to come; I promise I'll be okay." I chose to announce this at the exact moment that all three of them where partially dressed so that they couldn't follow me anyway. They glared at me, but, after much consideration, let me go.

I wandered down a hallway that I knew not many people used, and, at this hour in the morning, I knew would be clear. I got to the infirmary and found Mr. Solomon and my mom sitting there, talking to a nurse.

"Ah, there you are Miss Morgan." Mr. Solomon said, hearing me before I entered the door.

"Hi," I said shyly. I wasn't used to seeing him awake. It was still strange for me.

The nurse told me to have a seat on the x-ray table so she could look at my head. She took the x-ray and left for a couple of minutes so she could examine it on the computer. I sat there awkwardly, waiting for my mother to say something.

"Did you sleep well, Cam?" She asked. I was surprised at how casually she said it, as if I had been back here all along; as if I had never left.

I nodded, lying. I hadn't sleep well, but I wasn't going to tell them about my dream. One thing I had learned during my summer vacation was to never trust anyone, even people you knew before. I didn't trust Mr. Solomon, and I didn't trust his speedy recovery. I thought there might be some other factor at play. How could he be teaching now after what happened to him in the tombs only a few months ago?

The worst thing about my new rule was that it meant I couldn't trust my own mother. Gone were the days where I could go into her office and cry about my life, or complain about how hard and unfair everything was. I couldn't tell her everything, and I would do everything I could to stop her from guessing what I knew. My mother couldn't know the extent of my summer mission, especially not before I was sure about it myself.

So that's why I sat on the x-ray table in silence, waiting for the nurse to come back.

After exactly five minutes and seventeen seconds, she came back into the room, carrying the x-ray. I tried to catch a glimpse of it, but she held it close against her body.

"Well," asked my mother.

"I'm afraid that I cannot tell you much more than you already know, Mrs. Morgan. Cammie has experienced severe head trauma, and has temporary amnesia. She may start to experience memories of the past few months, but I doubt it. It is extremely rare to survive such a trauma, let alone regain the memories from it. I'm sorry."

My mother gasped, and her hands went to her mouth. I was surprised at her display of emotion. She was a spy, and she was perfectly capable of hiding how she felt. Not a second after my mother made her reaction apparent, Mr. Solomon put his hand on her back, gently stroking her, calming her. At that second I knew what was going on. I understood it perfectly. And I couldn't stay in the room one more second, watching it. I slipped out quietly, unbeknownst to my mother, Mr. Solomon or the nurse, even though two-thirds of the people in that room were the greatest spies I've ever known. I didn't want to think about what might have distracted them.

As I was walking down the halls as fast as I could without drawing attention, I thought about what I had just seen. It was so obvious. Mr. Solomon and my mother…..My mother and Mr. Solomon….I couldn't even finish the thought. It was disgusting and wrong. And how could they think I wouldn't notice? Did they think I was blind? Or maybe they wanted me to know….

I didn't want to think about their motives. I put the thought of my mind and continued to the dining hall, waiting for everyone else to wake up. Breakfast wasn't even served, so I sat down at my usual table, put my head on my arms and tried to reignite my memory of the man in the dream. Each time I thought about him, he seemed to get foggier in my mind. Could the nurse be right about my condition? Would I never remember anything?

I doubted it. I was already starting to remember some things, and it had only been a couple of weeks since I had woken up in the Alps. Maybe being back at Gallagher would help, I thought. I sat at the table for a while, deep in thought, until I heard footsteps approaching. I kept my eyes down, pointed at the floor, so I could see the incomer's shoes.

I recognized them. They were black, male shoes, long and wide, and they belonged to one Zach Goode. I sighed. Zach always found me at my lowest points. Whenever I wanted to be alone, Zach found me. Whenever I was invisible to everyone else, Zach saw me. I couldn't decide if this was good or bad.

I lifted my head at looked up at Zach, who was standing across from me. As usual, he was smirking.

"You're up early, Gallagher Girl."

"So are you." I snapped. I did not want to have this conversation right now.

Zach raised his eyebrows at my tone, and sat down across from me.

"You know, Gallagher Girl, I would brighten up if I were you. In about five minutes, the entire student body of the Gallagher Academy is going to descend into this hall and find you. I don't think you have to be a genius to figure out what the reaction of 500 teenage girls is going to be when they see the elusive Cammie Morgan, who's been gone for five months, sitting in their dining hall. Especially if said person is as grumpy as Bex is at six in the morning."

I sighed, looking down at my hands. "You're right, Zach. Sorry. I guess I should get ready-" I looked up, expecting to see him there, but instead I came face to face with the entire population of the Gallagher Academy. The room was so silent, you could've heard one of Liz's micro-sized flashcards drop. I stood up, facing my sisters.

The first one to speak was Tina Walters. "Oh. My. God," she screamed, "She's alive!" Then, in a flash, the entire senior class of the Gallagher Academy was crowding around me, touching me, hugging me, as if I might disappear at the blink of an eye.

I sunk into the arms of my sisters, feeling like I had gotten home at last.


	5. Time to Answer Your Reviews!

I'm going to answer all the current reviews on this story. Sorry if yours isn't in here…you must have reviewed after I did this. Thank you so much for reading!

NiniC: "awww she finally feels back home!

i liked this chapter

it feels like something ally would write (pretty close)

and i just love zach, and how reasonable he is.. :3"

Hi again! Thanks for sticking with the story! I'm glad you liked the chapter! You comparing it to something Ally would write is such a huge honour! Thank you! And I love Zach too. He's amazing. Keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!

m0ckingbird77 : "Aw dang it. lol. Mrs. Morgan and Mr. S? hey, I can see it, but poor Cammie...and I like what her friends did. lol. :D Great chapter, can't wait for the next one."

Personally, I hate Mrs. Morgan and Mr. Solomon as a couple…I just put that in there as a twist to confuse Cammie, and because Ally Carter hinted at it in the end of GG4, with Mrs. Morgan's sitting at Mr. Solomon's bedside and stuff. Thanks for the positive review, I'll update soon!

kgorange: "Cammie not trusting anyone? I think that might be a little OOC. But other than that I liked it!"

The reason I wrote that Cammie didn't trust anyone was because she was in a state of shock and anger. It was a momentary thought, not something she thinks all the time. I think that, after her time chasing the COC in the summer, she would be more cautious, but she would still trust people. I mean, obviously she trusts Zach and her roommates. She's just mad at her mother and Mr. Solomon right now. Thanks, and I'll update soon!

FlamingRain : "innnnterehsting twist, my dear. juust innnteresting."

Thannnnnk you, darlinnnnnng. Thannnnnk you. :P

NiniC: "This is goode!

I think it's better if you split and go uploading by parts (maybe not that small would be good in case you're wondering)

That way, you'll also have a piece to post if you happen to hit a writers block

I should've posted the review in the other chapter, but I'm lazy do I'll post it in one review

I like your story a lot. It really shows the kind of reaction you would expect from the characters. And you keep the line ally kept us to wonder... I'm not sure if by now Solomon would've been teaching again (cause he was pretty bad injured at the end of only the good spy young) but that is up to you.

I love he fact that Zach is still at Gallagher, and I'm really exited about what you think might had happen during Cammie's Summer.

I hope you post the next chapter soon, I'm really looking forward to it

Well this looks REALLY goode!"

I like your suggestion about my update schedule! I'll be sure to do that. And it doesn't matter where you post your review, I read all of them. Thank you some much for your compliments! I try to keep the characters as close to Ally Carter's as possible, and I'm glad you noticed. I didn't really think about Mr. Solomon's recovery time. You're right that he probably wouldn't be teaching. I just wanted to write about him so much! Maybe he'll only be teaching part-time or something….I love Zach and Cammie, so there was no way I was going to kick Zach out of Gallagher. Glad you love them as much as I do! As to Cammie's summer, I haven't really decided what happened yet. It will be a slow, gradual unveiling. Thanks, and I'll be sure to update soon!

kgorange: "I love this story! It is so Goode so far! And to answer your question I don't know, I like both options so whatever you decided will be fine as long as you continue to write!"

I'm glad you love my story! I love writing it. Thanks for answering my question! I promise, no matter how I chose to upload, that I will always continue writing. Thanks so much, and please, keep reading!

TrueGreek : "Omg This is sooooo good! You are an amazing writer and get the characters personality perfectly, which is really hard for people haha I prefer regular updates over long too long chapters but thats just me, this is definantly going on my favourites!"

Thank you! You have no idea how good that makes me feel! I always thought of myself as a terrible writer, and I'm so happy you like my stories! Thanks for noticing my efforts to keep the characters as 'in character' as possible. It isn't too difficult. I just have a feeling that, if I changed them too much, I would mess everything up. I love Ally Carter's characters, so there's no way I'm changing them. Thanks for answering my question. I'll update regularly, I promise. At least once a week is what you can hope for. Thank you! Keep reading!

sanityisfiction : "I started the story today and loved it! They all seem to be in character, which seems to be really hard for a lot of people. You seem to update pretty regularly and overall you are just an amazing writer! You have officially made it onto my favorite's list!"

Aw, thanks! I'm so pleased you love my story. I love the Gallagher Girls books so much; I just thought they needed to be continued while we wait for March. Thank you for adding me to your favourites, it really helps my confidence. :P I appreciate it so, so, so much! Thank you!

Lmb111514 : "Can you update regularly? This is absolutely amazing, so far you're the only author I've read who continued on from the first chapter. Please update soon!"

I will absolutely, for sure, always update this story until it is finished. I just updated today, so the next update will be soon! Keep reading! Thanks!

AussieGallagherGirl : "Personally I would prefer less regularly but more to read but whatever works for you! I'm always checking for my favourite stories!"

Hi again! I remember you from another review on my other story. (Or maybe it was this one.) I think I'm going to be updating at least once a week, and each update will be about 1000 words. I hope that's long enough for you! Thanks for answering my question, and enjoy reading!

m0ckingbird77: "I really really like the first two chapters! I would prefer the once a week but long chapters. :D But whatever is best for you! :D Can't wait for the next one!"

Hi again to you, too! You just reviewed my latest update on this story! You're at the top of the page, so I don't know if that means you're the most recent…if it does, you win a prize! Well, not actually. Your prize is more updates! I promise to keep writing long, juicy chapters for you. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

WiseGirl3: "I think the longer writing, less frequent updates will be easier."

That seems to be the response of many people, so I've decided to go with it. But for me, less frequent means once a week. I hope that's okay! Have fun reading, and thank you so much for taking the time to review!

FlamingRain : "im fine either i guess, i sometimes lose interest when i forget about a story, which i tend to do in a week, but i do like long chapters however it is more appealing to see that a story has more chapters"

Okay, so then I will make sure to keep you interested. I will be updating at least once a week. How's that? I promise my story will have lots of long chapters. Thank you for reading my story, and I love that you answered my question!

Krazykid500: "This was great! Love the story so far. :) Uploaad soon XD"

Thank you so much! I love your username, by the way. I will upload soon, I promise. Thank you for reading my stories, and for reviewing them. I just love reading all the reviews you guys post! It makes me so happy! :D

RoyalCrown29: "you're a really good writer! :D i love your stories! LOVE them. :) and i love how you update :) i have a feeling you'll be going on my favorite author list real soon... :)

XOXO~RC"

Really? Thanks! It's such an honor to be one of your favourite authors after only two unfinished stories. I love when you read and review my stories, so keep on doing it! Thank you!

XOXO! :P

Embyr7: "This story is amazing! :D It's a wonder why you don't have more reviews? It's so good! You write in such detail and I love it.[: Update soon! "

Thank you , thank you, thank you! I think the reason I had so few reviews when you read this is because I had only posted it an hour ago. Thank you for being so quick on the uptake! I have no idea how you found this, but I'm glad you did. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and I promise to update soon!

FlamingRain: "oooh this is amazing please continue:)"

Hi again! I remember you from earlier in this page! Thanks for sticking with my story all the way through! I'm glad you like it! I'll continue it for sure! Thanks for reading!

Momo the snail: "This is so good."

Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it. And I think you win for best username. I love it!

AussieGallagherGirl: "Joe sounds like he's hiding something...is he hiding something?

love the story so far :) keep it up!"

Hi again! This review made me think a lot. Originally, I didn't think Joe was hiding anything. I was just writing him to be mysterious and Joe Solomon-ish. But, now that think about it, him hiding something is a good idea. Maybe I'll use that…. Thanks for reviewing, again!

Nisa12: "Awwww! Cute a Zammie moment! :) "

Thank you so much for reviewing! I love Zach and Cammie as a couple, so I love writing Zammie moments in my stories. Glad you liked it! And congrats on being the first reviewer! Keep reading!


	6. Chapter 4

Soon enough, the girls let me go. They all went to sit down, eat breakfast, and gossip. I went to see Professor Buckingham to get my schedule, because I really didn't want to talk to my mother at that moment. She welcomed me back, but it appeared that she had already been informed of my arrival, because she didn't seem too surprised.

"Miss Morgan, I'm afraid you have missed a lot of material covered in your courses." She said.

"I know. I'll work hard. I promise."

"Alright, well, here you are. Have a good day."

"Thank you." I murmured, looking at my schedule and walking back to my table. I had senior cove-ops first. Great, I thought sarcastically. I put it out of my mind for the moment and sat down with my roommates. I helped myself to eggs benedict and orange juice. I braced myself to be bombarded with questions as soon as I sat down, but, surprisingly, that didn't happen.

I glanced up at the girls, and even Tina Walters was silent. I was confused at the silence, but then I noticed that my mother was standing in front of the hall, waiting for our attention.

"Ladies and gentleman, (I guessed she was referring to Zach when she said that) as I'm sure most of you have noticed, one of our sisters has come back to us. Cameron Morgan, after almost four months of being missing, is back at the Gallagher Academy. Please join me in welcoming our sister home."

I sunk into my chair in embarrassment as I felt the whole room stare at me. The applause lasted five and a half seconds, until my mother interrupted it with a few other announcements that I didn't listen to. After breakfast, I went up to my room to get a bag with a few things I thought I would need for cove-ops. By the time I had come downstairs, Bex was gone. I was left to go to Sublevel three by myself. I made my way there as quickly as possible, giving identification in the elevator and running to the classroom as fast as my ankle would let me.

I stepped in, about to find a seat, when Mr. Solomon said, "Miss Morgan. We've been waiting."

I exhaled and cleared my head, putting on a poker face. "I'm sorry. I only got my schedule this morning, and-"

"All the other students in this class have already gone through their tests last week. I'm afraid it is now your turn, Miss Morgan." He interrupted me.

I nodded, coming to a standstill in front of everyone, barely noticing my new surroundings in the new sublevel.

"We will be testing your ability to fool a standard polygraph, Miss Morgan. Have a seat at his table."

Mr. Solomon motioned towards his desk, which had two chairs in front of it and a lie detector rested on it. I sat down reluctantly, panicking internally. I had not studied for this test, but even if I had, I got the feeling it wasn't something that could be studied for.

"However," Mr. S continued, "the second part of the test is being able to detect another person's lie. You must act as a human lie detector. Then, I will check the actual lie detector to see if you have guessed correctly. First, Miss Morgan, you'll be doing the talking. And you'll need a partner…Hmm…The highest scoring student on this test was…Mr. Goode. Yes, I think that would be a suitable pairing. Come on up, Mr. Goode."

I groaned. Mr. Solomon had just made things a thousand times more difficult. Zach was the best liar I knew. There was no way I was passing this test.

Zach sat across from me, and I felt all the eyes in the room turn to us. "Alright Miss Morgan, Mr. Goode will ask you five questions. You will answer each question twice; once with the truth and once with a lie. If you do this successfully, your test results should be the same. Mr. Goode, you remember the questions?"

Zach nodded. He kept his face blank, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I exhaled, closed my eyes quickly, then opened them and put on a determined face.

"Ready?" Zach whispered. I nodded in response.

"Okay then. First question: what's your name?" He asked.

I decided to answer with the truth first: "Cameron Morgan."

Obviously, the machine showed I was telling the truth.

Zach asked the question again. I breathed in deeply, clearing my head. I wasn't nervous anymore. It was like an instinct had taken over my body, an instinct I had developed recently, but one that was familiar nevertheless. It told me to keep calm. I replied, this time not so truthfully: "Rebecca Baxter."

I glanced at the polygraph, but I already knew there would be no difference. I could feel it. Mr. Solomon raised his eyebrows, but Zach continued.

"Where do you go to school?" He asked, repeating the standard questions.

"The Gallagher Academy," I replied easily.

Zach asked again. Once again, I felt a cool demeanor come over my body. "Roseville High School," I answered this time. There was no difference in the lie detector's readings. I grinned. Zach kept his face blank.

The next two questions he asked were equally as boring, asking what my mother's name was and if I had any siblings. I replied both times, not showing any difference in behaviour when I was lying. The last question he asked surprised me though.

"Where did you go this summer?" He demanded suddenly, his eyes fierce. I felt the entire classroom lean closer to me.

I laughed. I wasn't going to give in that easily. I raised an eyebrow cockily and said: "I went to Papa New Guinea."

Zach shook his head, realizing I wasn't going to tell him. He asked again, but we both knew I was going to lie again. The rest of the class couldn't see my results though, so they were still expecting the truth. I decided to name a more probably destination this time.

"I went to St. Petersburg." I answered, lying again. The girls looked at each other questioningly, wondering if they should believe me. I smiled at Zach, and he rolled his eyes.

"Well, Miss Morgan. It looks like Mr. Goode has some competition. You both scored perfectly on the first half. We'll see how you do with the next part."

I gulped. This part was going to be much more difficult.

"Mr. Goode, you're going to have to stray away from the questions we had prepared for this half, as I'm sure Miss Morgan already knows the answers to all of them. You will state five facts, and Ms. Morgan will identify which of them are true."

Zach nodded, and winked at me. I leaned towards him, ready to read his body language. It gave away nothing. I sighed, and Zach started.

"I had a pet dog when I was seven years old. He was a black lab named Russ."

I studied Zach intently. He didn't even smirk. He was perfectly still, but not stiff. He looked as one might look while waiting for a bus. I couldn't decide on anything, so Zach kept going.

"I was the first one to find the mission file you left on Gilly's sword case."

This time, Zach's face changed slightly. I couldn't quite pin-point what it was, but I kept it in mind.

"I've been to Langley twice."

Zach's face stayed the same as it had the first time.

"I've-" Zach started, but I interrupted him. "You never had a dog, and you haven't been to Langley twice. The second one was true."

"Come on, Gallagher Girl. You could have at least let me finish!" Zach protested.

"I didn't have to. It was too easy." I replied smugly.

"Would you care to explain how you managed to guess correctly?" Mr. Solomon asked, also surprised.

"If I told you, Zach would be able to fix it, so then I wouldn't know in the future if he is lying." I replied cautiously.

"Well said, Ms. Morgan. Go back to your seats."

Zach rolled his eyes at me and I laughed quietly. I'd never tell him that his left eyebrow rose slightly when he was telling the truth, probably because it stopped him from smirking. The class lasted another twenty minutes, and I was pleased to find out that I had beaten Zach, and had the highest grade on the test.


End file.
